| Promoting the Relationship | |
| What To Do | Examples |
| Learn each child’s unique way of communicating and teach them yours – nonverbally with body and facial expressions. | Merely watching a child is one of the best ways to get to know them. |
| Invest time and energy to support the total or “whole” person. | Continually look at each area of development; don’t simply focus on large motor development when the child is becoming mobile. |
| Show respect by asking permission, explaining why, and allowing a response with honest feelings. | “I’m going to wipe your nose now.” |
| Be honest about your feelings -expressing w/o belittling or displaying wrong emotion. | “Ouch! It hurts when you pull my hair.” |
| Model behavior you want to teach -- acknowledging her distress without feeling sorry (empathy not sympathy). | “You’re mad that you have to come inside. What can we do inside to help?” |
| Recognize problems as learning opportunities. | “You look like you want to climb today. Let’s see what we can find for you to climb on.” |
| Build security by teaching trust (e.g. teachers and parents saying goodbye without sneaking out of the room). | “Kids, I’ll be right back--I need to go get the snack.” |
| Be concerned about the quality of each developmental stage. | Encourage a crawling child to crawl to a toy rather than helping the child walk. |
| Interaction with caregivers builds structures in the brain that have long-lasting cognitive effects. | Making eye contact and gently talking and holding should not be underestimated. |
| Primary caregiver system -- promote a strong attachment, better communication with children. | Try to keep the same teachers in one classroom. Moving teachers around is not helping the teacher/child attachment. |
| Preschool settings must not be the model for the infant and toddler classroom. | It’s not appropriate to design a toddler classroom to look just like a preschool classroom. What’s appropriate for four-year-olds may not be for two-year-olds. |